SM: Revenge
by Mokuseino Tenka
Summary: Story by Tatala, Translated by Me. The story of a reborn soldier trying to find her way.
1. The Normal Day

"You're not going to get away with this, Beryl

"You're not going to get away with this, Beryl." A proud determined sailor senshi stood across the garden, starring at one of the most evil women she had ever met.

"And what do you plan on doing to stop me?" Beryl mocked. Her staff stood parallel to her body as she stared, frustrated, at the senshi who wasn't even from the system she was determined to rule.

"Queen Serenity will know," the senshi said. "I'll tell her, and your plan will fail. I won't allow you to ruin this beautiful peace."

"This doesn't even concern you," Beryl said arrogantly as she stroked her staff. "This isn't your home to worry about."

"I am obligated to protect all good things, even if they wouldn't normally concern me!" the senshi retorted. "I won't let you do this!" The senshi lifted her hand to call her attack, but no words came from her mouth. Instead, blood curdled in her throat as she felt a warm wetness cover her middle. She looked down to see a glowing blade protruding from her middle. Blood streamed from her mouth as the blade vanished into thin air. She fell to her knees, her eyes wide and unbelieving. Her long pink hair cascaded around her body, creating a curtain as she felt all color drain from her face.

"Your obligation has cost you your life," Beryl said with a cold sneer. "Do give that some thought in the afterlife."

The senshi looked up to see Beryl flanked by three of her generals. She followed the fourth as he joined the rest, blood soaking his pristine white gloves. As she slowly felt gravity fall away, only one word was left on her red lips: "Jadeite…"

--

"Good morning Karen!" 13-year-old Karen spun around as her friend Tenka ran up behind her. As usual, her periwinkle-and-blue school uniform was wrinkled and obviously uncared for.

"Good morning, Tenka," Karen replied. "Did you get your homework done?"

"Well, mostly," Tenka admitted as she scratched her back with her school bag. "I was hoping you could help me out a bit."

"I don't think I can," Karen replied. "I didn't get all of mine done, either." She groaned and stomped her foot. "I hate history! It's so boring and I just can't focus and remember anything!"

"It's too bad it isn't in another language," Tenka said. "Then maybe you'd pay attention better. It would make you focus more and you might retain more of it." Karen laughed.

"See? This is why you're the smart one!" The two girls laughed and then sprinted the rest of the way to school.

--

As the girls ran into the school, an unsavory figure stood atop it. It was nothing but a billowing cloak and a hooded head, but it was simply something about the way it stood that made it most unpleasant. "There is one here," the figure spoke in a smooth, sultry voice. "I can feel it. It grows stronger." The figure tilted its had back, its hood revealing a pair of plump red lips that thinned into a sinister smile. "Finally."

--

"USAGI!" Rei charged after Usagi, who has accidentally spilled a soda on a small stack of Rei's comics. Usagi was running as fast as possible for the safety of the street. She knew Rei wouldn't leave the temple alone, and wouldn't go past the stairs. Of course, Usagi had to get there first. And that wasn't going to happen. Usagi hadn't been paying attention to her path and plowed right into someone.

The two tumbled until they stopped with Usagi across the poor person's stomach. Usagi groaned, and then heard Rei behind her. "Usagi, you fat lard, get off her!" She couldn't do it herself, though. She felt Rei's foot jam into her rear and rocket her several feet away. Rei, meanwhile, knelt next to the downed innocent.

It was a girl with short brown hair. Her bangs were swept to the right side of her face, covering one of her blue eyes. "I apologize for her," Rei said as she offered a hand to the girl. The girl looked up at her in surprise but took her hand nonetheless and stood.

"It's okay," the girl said. "There's a girl in my class who does that every morning because she's always late and some poor fool always gets run over." She girl tilted her head and brushed her bangs further over, so both her eyes were visible. "I'm Karen, and I'm looking for charms for my mother."

"I see," Rei said. "Please follow me." The girl followed Rei as Usagi was left in a daze on the stone ground. A short time later, Ami, Makoto, and Minako came up the stairs to the sight of Usagi still on the ground, her butt stuck up in the air and her chin plastered to the stones in drool. The girls stopped and stared, unsure of what to think of it.

"Well, she must have gotten on Rei's bad side," Makoto said with a shrug. The others nodded, and then together they went to Usagi's side. Makoto and Minako took one shoulder each and pulled their half-witted friend upright. They shook her a bit, bringing her back to Earth.

"What did you do make Rei mad now?" Amy asked.

"Huh?" Usagi looked confused, but then it dawned on her. "Oh, that!" She laughed. "Oh, it was nothing worth mentioning." She held the back of her head with her hand as Rei came up behind her. She tapped Usagi's shoulder with the top of the broom, causing Usagi to practically jump out of her skin. She ran around to hide behind Makoto.

"Nothing worth mentioning, indeed," Ami said with a smile as she walked to the temple. She stopped, however, when she saw the girl Usagi had run over walking toward her. She recognized the girl's periwinkle-and-blue uniform as being from the multi-lingual academy, Sougyokyuu Gakuen. Ami had once wished to be a part of the academy, but being Sailor Mercury made her forget about it.

"Hello," the girl said politely as she passed Ami. Ami turned and let her stare follow the girl as she walked toward Makoto and the others. The girl saw Usagi hiding behind Makoto and she smiled.

"I forgive you for running over me," the girl said. Usagi peeked out from behind Makoto and stared at the girl. "As I told your friend, I'm used to it." Usagi smiled and stood up straight.

"I really am sorry, though," Usagi said. The girl lifted her hand and shook it.

"No no, it's all right," she said. "Now if you will excuse me, I have homework to attend to." The girl bowed and walked away, passing by Rei. As she passed by Minako, she happened to glance up and see Rei's two crows start to circle her. The girl froze and watched as they continued to circle. She took a step to get away, and ended up tripping over her own foot and falling into Minako. The two fell, but Makoto grabbed at them, managing to grab Minako before she fell. The girl stopped her fall with her hands, but couldn't stop her school bag from coming open. Minako knelt down to help, but the girl had everything scooped into her bag in a hurry. Some of her papers hung out, but she didn't seem worried. She hurried to her feet and searched for the two crows. They were now on Rei, one resting on each shoulder.

"Are you okay?" Rei asked. The girl nodded, her lips pursed together as she backed away. She never took her eyes from the crows. "Are you sure?" Rei asked. Then she looked at her crows. "Are you afraid of them?" The girl nodded, lips still pursed and going white. "Oh, you don't need to be, they are very friendly." The girl didn't look convinced, and then in a flash she turned around and was gone down the stairs.

"What a strange girl," Makoto said.

"She probably won't come here anymore," Minako said. "She seemed very frightened." The girls nodded and made their way to Rei's bedroom.

--

"Oh, I hate birds, I hate birds!" Karen groaned as she sprinted home. She took a short rest in the elevator up to her apartment's floor and then sprinted to her door. She paused outside of it and took a deep breath before going in. Her mother, in her usual kimono, was in the kitchen and cleaning the tea set. "Is it tea time already?" Karen asked.

"No, it is not," her mother replied. "You missed tea time."

"Oh no!" Karen exclaimed. "I'm sorry, Mother! I stopped and bought your amulets and I must have lost track of the time!" Karen held out the three amulets for her mother.

"Ah, I see," her mother replied. "Well, it is normal to lose track of time on occasion. Do try to avoid that mistake in the future."

"I promise, mother," Karen said as she offered the amulets to her. Her mother took them gratefully and Karen retreated to her room. There, she dumped out the contents of her bag and began reorganizing it all. As she did, she picked up a pen she hadn't noticed before. "I don't remember this," she said. She looked it over, and then noticed a crescent moon on it. She lay back on her bed and began to slip into her own little fantasy world. "Wouldn't it be great if I could be like Sailor V?" she asked to no one. "If only I could be like that, be a super hero like in her cartoon." Then she sat up straight and lifted the pen up. "This could be how I transform!" she said. "That would be so cool!" She then stood and dramatically held up the pen. "I can be the new Sailor V! New V Power, Transform!" Her smile quickly changed as she suddenly felt her clothes vanish. She didn't yell in surprise, though, as it was over as suddenly as it happened. The pen was gone from her hand, and when she looked at her hand, she saw a white glove. She then bolted to her mirror, and was in shock at what she saw. Staring back at her through her mirror was a beautiful Sailor Senshi with long pink hair in an orange bow and a green mask upon her nose. "Am I…" She touched the mask, unable to believe what she saw. "I'm… a sailor senshi!"


	2. The NotSoNormal Day

Karen stared in awe at her reflection for what seemed like hours

Karen stared in awe at her reflection for what seemed like hours. She'd pranced around, pretended to be fighting monsters, and generally felt like a little girl who had been watching too many cartoons. She hit the panic button, however, when she heard her mother call for her. "Oh dear," Karen said as she looked at herself. "Now what? I can't just waltz out like this!" She took off the mask and inspected her hair to see if it was a wig, but pulling on it was just as painful as her own hair. Then she saw her eyes were no longer blue, but purple. "Oh!" She began hopping back and forth between the floor and her bed, desperately trying to get the clothes off. She could throw her hair up in a towel and make an excuse, but the clothes had to go. They didn't come off, however, and it only made Karen panic more.

"Karen, are you all right?" her mother called. There was a knock at Karen's door, and the panicking girl froze, standing on her bed with her hands on her waist and her knees bent from trying to pull the skirt off. Karen's eyes averted to the door.

"Uh, yes mother I'm fine!" she called back. "I'll be out in a moment!" She struggled with the skirt again, but it wouldn't budge. "Come on," she grumbled, her English mutterings quickly melting into curses. She gave up and started pulling on the shirt. Still grumbling, she had no success. "Come… On!" She pulled up hard, but only succeeded in shifting her right foot enough to slip off of her bed and land square on her back on the floor with her right leg elevated by the bed and caught up in her blanket. The door burst open, Karen's mother in the doorway with a look of concern. The look quickly changed to confusion for a brief moment, and then to her usual unemotional, uninvolved state.

"Karen, what are you doing?" she asked. Karen looked up at her with a look her father would describe as the "deer-in-headlights" look.

"Um, mom, I know how this looks, and I can explain…"

"You can explain why my lovely daughter is on her back on her floor with her school skirt bunched around her waist in a very unladylike manner?"

Karen lifted her head to look at her clothes, and as she did she felt her long brown bangs fall into place. She brushed them aside to see her school uniform, instead of the colorful Sailor V uniform. "Uh, yeah," she said quietly as she slowly picked herself up. "I fell… from my bed… I was taking a nap…" She looked back up at her mother, who didn't look convinced. She didn't say anything more on the topic, however, as the telephone began to ring. Her mother turned and left her room, and Karen wasted no time closing the door. She turned around and look at her reflection, seeing only herself now. She slowly approached the mirror, unbelieving, and then she noticed the mask was still on her vanity. "So, it wasn't a dream," she said softly as she picked it up. She gasped when the mask suddenly turned into the pen she had held before the fiasco had begun. She looked it over again, sitting on her bed, and came to the conclusion that the pen had caused the transformation. "This is wicked cool," she whispered. "I'm a Sailor Senshi! I could fight crime!" Smiling contently, she tucked the pen safely into her jacket pocket before hanging it up. "I'll be better than the first Sailor V!"

--

"Out of my way!" Usagi shouted as she charged through her home. Per usual, she was late for school, and considering what time it was, she probably would miss half of her first class. For some odd reason, Luna hadn't been there this morning to screech in Usagi's ear. In fact, no one had been around to bother to wake her up at all. Usagi didn't notice, but her mother wasn't waiting with a plate of toast ready to snatch and eat on the way to school. Her brother wasn't there to make some comment on her usual lateness. Her father wasn't there reading his paper and ready to wish her a good day at school. Usagi slipped her shoes on and rushed out the door, and right into her father's back. She fell backward onto her bottom and looked up in surprise. Her father turned around in surprise, then smiled.

"Well there you are," he said. He quickly took her unoffered hand and pulled her up, pointing to the sky. "Take a look at that!" Usagi looked and saw the moon in plain sight, as though it were night. Both the sun and the moon were in the sky as though battling for attention.

"Is it a solar eclipse?" Usagi asked.

"I don't think so," her father replied. "We've been watching the moon move in a most unusual pattern." Usagi tilted her head and noticed that the moon did seem to be moving right before her eyes. She then began to feel uneasy. Whatever was happening wasn't natural. Without another thought, Usagi ran past her family and to the sidewalk. As soon as she was out of sight, she opened her communicator to contact her friends, but the communicator was dead. Not knowing what else to do, she ran to the temple.

--

The girls were already at the temple, including Michiru, Haruka, and Hotaru. They were all gathered around Rei as she attempted a fire reading. Getting any information out of Ami's computer was impossible, as it was dead like their communicators. Luna had left a short while earlier to get Usagi. They all figured she was still in bed.

They all watched the fire with rapt attention, as it slowly turned gray, and then blue, and finally red again. Then, Rei gasped and the fire burst as though a can of gasoline had been thrown in. Rei stumbled backward into Makoto's arms just as the door slid open, framing Usagi as she panted for any breath she could take. "I'm sorry… I'm late…" she gasped. Then she noticed Rei. "What happened?"

"We have a new enemy," Rei said stubbornly as she stood up.

"A new enemy?" Ami asked. "What did you see?"

"The night sky, painted red," Rei said as she crossed her arms and closed her eyes, envisioning the image in her head. "The stars were shining with a strange force, and not just any stars, either. It was a constellation, but I don't know which. There was also the moon…" she paused. "Well, half of it anyway. The other half was gone, and there was a sailor senshi with pink hair in a strange green uniform, standing over…" Rei opened her eyes.

"Over what?" Hotaru asked. "What was she standing over?" Rei's eyes looked up at Usagi.

"Princess Serenity," she said softly. "And there was blood, a lot of it." Usagi grasped her hands as she gasped and stepped back in shock.

"Me?" Usagi asked. Rei nodded.

"I don't know anyone else with hair like yours in a white dress," Rei said. "Someone is here on Earth, and we have to make sure nothing happens to you."

--

"Have you ever seen anything like it Karen?" Tenka stared up at the moon as it slowly moved in the bright day sky. She and Karen were standing in the schoolyard, where half the school was watching in awe. When Tenka got no response, she looked at Karen, who seemed preoccupied with something other than the moon.

"Huh?" Karen quickly looked up at Tenka. "What did you say?"

"I said have you ever seen anything like this?" Tenka repeated. Karen shook her head and looked up. Tenka looked up too and continued. "Just imagine what kind of havoc this will have on the tides."

"Still hanging out with your walking encyclopedia?" asked a nasty voice. Both Karen and Tenka turned around to the sight of the most popular girls in school, the exchange student from Texas, Amber Dallas. Her posse of popular wannabes, who answered to her every whim, surrounded her on either side.

"She has a name," Karen replied, "and yes, she is still my best friend." Amber tossed her hair over her shoulder with a smile.

"Just checking," she said with an overly sweet voice. "The invitation to ditch her and join us is still open." With that, Amber turned and walked away, her posse following in step. Karen scoffed and looked at Tenka. Her face was very red and she was clutching the handle of her school bag very tightly with both hands.

"Don't worry about her," Karen said, rolling her eyes.

"I'm not worried about her," Tenka said quietly as wetness formed at the corners of her eyes. "Karen, do you think you'd ever go with her?" Karen's eyes widened and she laughed harshly.

"Ha! That's funny," she said. "Honestly Tenka, what do you think? Could never be friends with her, and I'd never want to be anyway. You are my best friend, Tenka, and you always will be." To emphasize her words, Karen placed a hand on Tenka's shoulder. Tenka looked at her, and then smiled after a moment.

"Thank you," she said. Karen nodded, but she stopped as her eyes caught movement on the roof. Something was up there, and for some reason she felt she had to see.

"Say Tenka, I'm going to go back up to class," she said as she walked past Tenka. She never took her eyes off of the roof, even though the figure had disappeared from her sight.

"Karen, wait!" Tenka shouted. Her voice was lost as Karen's walk turned into a run.

--

All the way up Karen went until she was at the roof. She opened the door and looked around. She didn't see anyone, though they could have already left. Karen sighed and turned to go back down. However, her path was blocked. A tall slender figure stood in front of the doorway. It was covered by a long cloak, and stood so still it could have been the shadow of a statue, but it wasn't. Its shoulders shifted, and the cloak moved to the side to reveal a slender body beneath it dressed in a blue-and-brown dress. There was gold fishnet covering the right arm as it moved up to place its hand on its hip.

"I didn't think anyone could see me," the figure spoke in a sultry, hypnotizing female voice. "I didn't think humans could see things that moved so quickly."

"It's human nature to be full of surprises," Karen said in a low voice that caught her off guard. While Karen pondered her strange voice, the figure snapped into a defensive stance.

"What did you say?" the figure asked, the voice becoming sickeningly sour.

"I don't know," Karen admitted as she stepped back.

"Liar!" the figure shouted as it vanished in a puff of grey smoke. Karen jumped at the snap it made, but then felt her body lift up and fly forward. She landed and skidded on her right cheek until she stopped at the roof access door. She looked up and saw the figure in the black cloak. It stood now where Karen had been, and in its red gloved hands was an orb of light that swirled in blue, black, and gold. Karen gasped as the figure made to throw it at her. She lunged for the stairs, successfully tumbling down them and avoiding the explosion the orb made on the top of the stairs.

Karen's descent stopped at the bottom and she promptly picked herself up. She was worried someone would see, but everyone in the hall was on the floor with wide eyes and ghastly skin. Karen could feel her own skin turn colors as she stared at them. She glanced out the window to the schoolyard and saw that all of the spectators of the strange moon movement were still moving, but looked like they were tied to the ground. She ran to the window and watched as they slowly collapsed and took on the appearance of their peers in the school. Karen's hands were now visibly shaking against the window. She pressed herself forward onto the cool glass, resting her scratched cheek on the pane as she contemplated the unreal situation. She pressed her body to the pain as though seeking support from it, but felt something hard press against her breast. She pushed herself away and looked at her pocket. The strange pen she had found the day before was still there. She lifted it out, looked at it, and then lifted it up with a shout. "New V Power, Transform!" Praying for the same results as the night before, and maybe a few powers to go with it, Karen felt her clothes vanish and be replaced by the uniform of Sailor V. The pen was gone from her hand and she saw her faint reflection in the window. She nodded at herself, touched the mask for good luck, and charged back up the stairs to the roof.

--

"Hurry up Sailor Moon!" Sailor Mars shouted as she practically headed the sailor team to Sougyokyuu Gakuen. The explosion on the roof was only the more recent reason to go there in full uniform. Mars had felt the presence of the senshi from her dream emanating from the school. They finally reached the gate of the school and found it bound together by ropes of blue, black, and gold energy. Through the ropes and bars, they could see students in the yard tied to the ground by the same energy ropes. Half were fallen, and the rest were following. With a quick leap, the team was over the gate. However, they quickly found themselves being tied up by the energy ropes. They struggled, but the more they struggled the tighter they were wrapped. Uranus summoned her sword into her free hand and tried to cut away the ropes, but a few separate ropes took her sword away. The team found their energy waning as they struggled unsuccessfully. They, their attention were drawn to the top of the school as two bodies suddenly plummeted from the roof.

--

She had to leap over the crater made by the explosion, but she landed with surprising grace and looked around for the figure. She found it standing on the top of the chain link fence that surrounded the roof, watching over the attack in the yard. "Stop what you're doing!" Karen shouted. The figure turned in surprise to her.

"Who are you?" it asked.

Karen froze up for a moment, and then held her hand up to the sky. "I am the protector of Sougyokyuu Gakuen and the next generation of super heroes! I am Sailor New V!" To Karen, no, to Sailor New V's surprise her empty open hand was suddenly filled with something she didn't recognize. She brought her hand down and looked to see two fish shapes, one following the other, around a small blue-green sphere. The two fish were the same color, but were very shiny, almost like a mirror. She could see her reflection in the fish, and in that moment she felt a faint burning on the back of her head. She then looked up at the figure that still stood on the chain link fence. New V lifted the mirror to the figure, reflective side out, and shouted, "Twin Beam!" From each of the two fish shot a beam of light that struck the chain link fence. The figure jumped up and landed behind New V.

"I thought I felt power here," the figure said. "I didn't expect a Sailor Senshi, but this is good fortune for me!"

"What are you talking about?" New V asked as she turned around.

"My assignment is to collect energy," the figure said, "and now I can take back the energy of a Senshi!" The figure lunged at New V, grabbing her by the shoulders and throwing both of them through the fence and down to the school yard far below.

--

The senshi watched as the two figures plummeted. Then, one of them leapt away, leaving the other to fall. The one that leapt away landed on the ledge of a window on the building. The other landed with a heavy thud. The senshi could only assume it was another student. Then, to their surprise, the figure on the school vanished. It reappeared in front of them. "More senshi?" she asked. "How delightful. Master will surely be pleased."

"Who are you and why are you doing this?" Sailor Moon asked. The figure laughed and took a hold of its hood. Before it could pull it down, however, twin beams of light struck its back. It turned and saw Sailor New V standing on shaky legs across the yard where she had landed. The senshi looked at New V in confusion as the figure yelled and lunged at her.

"Twin Beam!" New V shouted again. Her attack shot at the figure, hitting it head-on. The figure tumbled backward, head over heels, and landed flat on its back. Its hood was still on, but the cloak was splayed open. The gold fishnet was now black, but fluctuated between that and blue. Then, the figure vanished in a puff of gray smoke. New V stood defensively, waiting for the figure to reappear, but it didn't. Instead, the ropes of blue and black energy vanished. The senshi were released, as were the students. The students slowly came to their senses and the first thing they noticed as Sailor New V.

"Sailor V!" one student shouted.

"That's not her," another shouted, "the colors are all wrong!"

"You're right, I'm not Sailor V!" New V shouted over the growing clamor. "I am the protector of Sougyokyuu Gakuen, Sailor New V! From now on, I promise to protect this school from evil beings! In the name of New Justice, I promise!"

"Sailor 'New' V?!" Venus shouted as she jumped up. "Who does she think she is? There is only one Sailor V!" The senshi quickly contained Venus' rant and watched as Sailor New V ran to the school and disappeared inside.

"Her aura…" the senshi turned to look at Mars, who had a misty look about her. "Her aura is the same as that senshi from my vision!"


	3. The FarFromNormal Day

The night sky was calm and the moon hung still against the stars

The night sky was calm and the moon hung still against the stars. Usagi had her arms crossed on her windowsill, her head resting on them as she stared into the sky. "Sailor New V," she said quietly. "Who are you? Are you really the senshi Rei sees that will harm me, or are you a friend?"

"Usagi?" Luna hopped up onto the windowsill and looked at the blond-haired teen. "Did you say something?"

"Oh, no, Luna," Usagi said. "I was just wondering about Sailor New V. She saved everyone today. Could she really be the senshi Rei saw in her vision?"

"You mustn't openly trust strangers," Luna said. "We know nothing of this 'Sailor New V.'"

"Exactly!" Usagi exclaimed. "We don't know anything! She could be good!"

"And Rei's vision?" Luna had Usagi there. She sighed.

"Well, Rei's visions aren't always right," Usagi said. "There was- No, she was right. Oh, there was the- Oh, no, she was right then, too."

"I will admit," Luna said, "That on occasion, Rei's visions have been more than met the eye. But again, we know nothing of this new senshi, or of this enemy who attacked the school."

"Maybe she doesn't know who she is," Usagi offered. "She said she was the protector of Sougyokyuu Gakuen, not of a star or planet. Maybe she is a senshi in disguise that needs to hide, or maybe she lost her memories or-"

"-She may not be a senshi at all," Luna interrupted. Usagi frowned.

"That's not what I was going to say," she said. She pulled her covers over her and lay down. Luna shook her head before hopping into the window and leaving.

She stopped walking once she reached the corner a block from Usagi's house. Artemis was already waiting. "Have you confirmed it?" Luna asked as Artemis stood.

"I have," Artemis replied. "I haven't alerted Minako, but her V Pen is missing. This 'Sailor New V' definately has it." Luna nodded.

"I trust you can track it?" she asked. Artemis smiled.

"Well of course," he said. "I'm the one who made it so she could transform." Together, the two walked down the street and into the night.

--

Karen tapped her cheek with her pencil as she tried to focus on her history homework. She found it impossible. She was too excited! She had become a sailor senshi, saved the students and the other senshi, and sent a villain clean onto the ground. She was feeling great. Maybe a little too great.

She closed her book with her pencil still in it and went for her school jacket. Tucked safely in the pocket was the magical pen. "Mother and father will not be home until late," she said to her vanity mirror. "Surely it will not hurt to experiment with Sailor New V." She smiled and held up the pen. "New V Power, Transform!"

--

"Luna!" Artemis stopped and held up his head.

"What is it?" Luna asked.

"The pen, someone used it again," Artemis said. "Come on!" He charged forward with Luna on his heels the whole way.

--

"I can practically fly!" New V exclaimed as she leapt from one roof to another. "This is so cool!" She skidded to a halt on the jewelry store roof and took in a deep breath. "I feel so alive!" She clasped her hands behind her back and stared out at the city. Then she had a thought. When she had fought that that woman, she had somehow summoned the fish mirror thing. "I wonder..." She looked at her hands, then held up the one that had received the mirror before. She thought hard about the mirror, but she never felt anything appear in her hand. "That is a pity," she said as she dropped her hand. "I wonder how I did it..."

"Did what?"

New V jumped up in surprise and landed ont he roof's edge. She looked around the dark roof to see who had spoken, but she saw no one. "Who... Who said that?" she asked.

"I did," the voice said again. New V looked around in confusion before hearing, "Down here." New V blinked, then looked down. Sitting on the roof were two cats, a white and a black, and both were staring at her.

New V blinked again. "Talking cats?" she asked. Then she laughed and smacked her forehead. "Of course! I've been Sailor New V for too long and I am hallucinating!" She laughed, then looked down at the cats. "I am, am I not?"

"You are not hallucinating," the black one said. "We are speaking to you." New V's eyes bulged again and she twitched. Then she began laughing again.

"Well of course I am hallucinating!" she raved as she hopped off of the edge and strolled past the cats. "I cannot expect a hallucination to admit that it is a hallucination!"

"I assure you, 'Protector of Sougyokyuu Gakuen,' that we are not hallucinations," Artemis protested as he and Luna followed her. "We are the guardians of the Sailor Senshi, and we come out of curiosity. Who are you?"

New V stopped and looked over her shoulder at the cats. "The Sailor Senshi?" she said. She turned full to them. "The sailor senshi have talking cats?" She rubbed her chin. "Hmm, I wonder how I get one."

"You can't just 'get one,'" Luna said. "We were assigned to the senshi in their past lives to guide them in this one."

"Whoa, past lives?" New V held up her hands. "Wait up minute. Talking cats and past lives? I think I'm just fine being me."

"And who are you?" Artemis asked again.

"Why, I am Sailor New V," New V said. "Protector of Sougyokyuu Gakuen, just like you said. I don't have a talking cat or a past life, but I'm a sailor senshi, too!"

"How can we be sure of that?" Artemis asked. "How do we know you are not the enemy?"

"The enemy tried to kill my friends and classmates today!" New V exclaimed. "That's the enemy, not me! I saved them!" She looked at her hand. "I just wish I knew how I got that mirror." Luna and Artemis looked at each other, both catching what she had said.

'The enemy tried to kill my friends and classmates today!' Friends and classmates? They both silently concluded that this girl had to be from that school.

"I see," Luna said. "If I may ask, how did you get your powers?" New V looked down at them and touched her mask.

"Well, I found this pen in my school bag one day, and I was just playing around with it, pretending to be Sailor V, when I became this." She motioned to herself. "I do not know how or why, but I am a Sailor Senshi now." She shrugged. The two cats glanced at each other. "Why? Do you know something I do not know?"

"Perhaps," Artemis said. "This pen belonged to the original Sailor V. I found you here because I'm the one who made it for her."

"I... I see," New V said. She looked drastically disheartened. "That would certainly make sense. I suppose she wants her pen back." Luna and Artemis looked at each other. Before either could answer, a scream arose from the street. New V and the two cats ran to the edge and looked over. Down below were a man and a woman being restrained to the building wall but swirling rings of aquamarine energy. New V looked closer, then gasped. "Mother! Father!" She jumped onto the edge and then over it, flying quickly down and landing on the street with grace. Luna and Artemis looked at each other with concern before hurrying to the nearest roof access.

Down below, New V ran at her parents. They were barely conscious. "Please be okay," she said. Her father groaned and looked up at her slowly with misty eyes. She would have said more, but she had to stop herself. She couldn't let her parents know she was a senshi. "Don't worry sir!" she said with a proud voice. "I shall set you free!"

"Oh?" New V found herself frozen at the sound of a small, barely-there voice. She turned to see a woman with navy hair pinned neatly into a bun. She wore an aquamarine-and-brown dress with buttons up the left side. Over her shoulders was a collar like that of the senshi. It was aquamarine as well. Her arms were covered in silver fishnet not unlike the netting the other woman had worn.

"You are a senshi?" the girl said, her voice barely audible.

"Uh, yes, yes I am," New V said, standing straight. "I am Sailor New V!"

"Protector of Sougyokyuu Gakuen," the other girl said. "Yes, Mirandas spoke of you. Her head still hurts." As the girl spoke, she stayed perfectly still. Even her mouth barely moved. She reminded New V of a statue, and this spooked her.

The girl turned her wrists so the palms of her hands would have New V. From her palms came swirling jets of aquamarine energy. New V moved, but only missed the one. The other struck her right arm and swirled up it, weighing it down and making it unmovable. "Wha- What is this?!" New V exclaimed. She looked up at the girl, who still had not moved.

"Mirandas was most upset," she said. "She will wish to 'thank' you." New V didn't like the sound of that. She tried to stand tall, but her arm couldn't be used. "But first, I must continue my work. I have real senshi to summon to me."

"I am a real senshi!" New V shouted. Then she gasped as she felt her free hand dip a little. She looked down as she lifted it up, and in her hand was the fish mirror. She pointed it at the senshi. "Now I can prove it! Twin Beams!" The watery twin beams of light shot from the mirror and hit the woman, throwing her back stiffly as though she really were a statue. The spiraled water on her arm fell away, freeing New V completely. She ran to her parents. Their eyes were still misty, as though yet unreleased from whatever the woman had done. She turned back around and found the woman had stood already, as though she had never fallen.

"That is most irritating," she said, her whisper-like voice now laced with a hint of poison. "Mirandas was right to be angry with you. Now I, Sailor Tritonos, shall punish you."

"Punishing is my job," New V said. "You've harmed innocent people, and for that you shall be punished!" She lifted her mirror again and shouted, "Twin Beams!" at the same time, Tritonos turned her palms and sent spirals of water at New V. The attacks met, gathering at their crossing point into a growing ball of brilliantly glowing water. New V groaned at the strain as it became harder to hold her ground. Tritonos, on the other hand, didn't see to be affected at all.

"Hold on Sailor New V!" Luna shouted as she and Artemis arrived. "You must hold on!" New V glanced at Luna and Artemis, then turned her head just enough to catch sight of her parents.

_I can't fail. I must triumph!_ She turned her attention back to the attacks. "I will triumph! Twin Beams!" A second attack began, pushing the first attack forward into the growing ball and then shoving the ball at Tritonos. The evil woman's eyes grew and she gasped before the ball enveloped her. When the attack dissipated, Tritonos was gone. New V panted and fell backward onto her bottom. "Did I… Did I kill her?!"

"You may," Luna said. "We can't know for sure." Luna moved to check on the civilians as Artemis went up to New V. He sat down and stared at her, contemplating this unique situation. He glanced at her mirror every now and again as he did. Soon, Luna joined him. "The humans will be all right," she said. "They will wake up soon." She tilted her head. "Perhaps they would like to thank their savior?" New V didn't respond. Then after several moments of silence, she spoke.

"Sailor Tritonos," she said. "_Sailor_ Tritonos." She looked at Luna and Artemis. "There is such a thing as evil senshi?" The two cats nodded. This greatly surprised New V. "And… You thought I was one of _them_?!" She jumped to her feet, her hands clenched. "I am not evil! I am a good sailor senshi who intends on protecting the innocent!" She looked over at her parents. "Tell me this, where were the other sailor senshi? If I hadn't shown up, what would have happened to those people?" She looked down at the cats. "I'm not saying the sailor senshi are bad or anything, but it seems to me you could always use an extra pair of hands." She opened her hand with the mirror in it, staring at is in wonder. "I MUST be a real senshi, I just must be…"

"It would seem so," Artemis said. New V looked at him. "You've gained our trust. We can vouch for you with the others; though, don't always expect a warm welcome. They've learned to be wary around strangers."

"I can understand that," New V said with a smile. "I am a real senshi, and I plan on proving that to the enemy at every chance I get!"


	4. The Painful Day

The morning air was chilly and the sky was still dark as the girls gathered at the temple for a meeting

The morning air was chilly and the sky was still dark as the girls gathered at the temple for a meeting. Luna and Artemis hadn't classified it as an emergency, but their timing was odd. The last thing the senshi wanted to do on a Sunday morning was get up early, especially Usagi, but they all managed to get there on time.

Except for Usagi.

They all waited for her, and when she arrived, the two cats wasted no time getting on with the meeting. "Artemis and I have taken the liberty of making contact with Sailor New V," Luna said. "We've determined that as of yet, she is not a threat."

"And you are sure of this?" Haruka asked in her usual way.

"Positive," Artemis said. "Or at least, she's less of a threat than the senshi she defeated last night single-handidly." There was a resounding "WHAT?!" to which Artemis added, "A Sailor senshi named Sailor Tritonos attacked a man and woman last night just after we'd made contact with Sailor New V. Tritonos was attacking them in hopes of attracting all of you. New V put a stop to her and, after some difficulty, seemingly destroyed the evil senshi."

"What do you mean by 'seemingly?'" Rei asked.

"The senshi disappeared in the attack and was not seen again," Luna replied, "But we know better than to assume such a thing."

"Sailor New V is powerful, however," Artemis said. "She uses Minako's transformation pen from her time as Sailor V, but her powers are far greater than what hers were." Minako grew red in the face, clearly fighting back a very powerful tantrum.

"Meaning Sailor New V is a real senshi!" Usagi exclaimed. "This must mean she's a lost senshi who is in disguise!"

"I don't think so," Luna said, shaking her head. "If she is, she is really clueless to it. She is under the impression that all of her power comes from the pen, which could be plausible if not for one thing."

"The mirror," Ami finished. Luna nodded.

"What mirror?" Hotaru asked.

"Sailor New V has a mirror which she uses to attack," Artemis said. "We don't know where is comes from, but it is impossible for it to come from the pen." The others nodded in understanding.

"She checks out for now," Haruka said, "But it doesn't mean we have to trust her."

"Which puts us back at the school," Michiru continued. "She and the enemy are somehow connected to that school, and we have a plan to check it out." She lifted her head and eyed the younger senshi. "It will require a certain amount of maturity from all of you."

--

"This is so exciting!" Minako exclaimed as she tossed things around in her closet. She'd completely forgotten the matter of her pen being in the hands of a stranger and instead was engrossed in the matter of Michiru and Haruka's plan: Investigate Sougyokyuu Gakuen by way of the school's annual dance. This had excited the girls to no end including, strangely enough, Ami.

"Oh, Artemis!" Minako spun around holding a long yellow dress with a white sash. "How about this one?" Her smile fell into amusement at the sight of Artemis curled up in a ball on the edge of the bed. "ARTEMIS!" The cat jumped and landed on the edge, sliding off and landing on his back. Minako's eyes widened. "I thought cats always landed on their feet." Artemis grumbled and climbed back up on the bed. "Okay, so how about this dress?"

"Minako, remember that there is a purpose to this outing," Artemis said. "Also, remember that is isn't until Saturday evening. There is plenty of time to plan." The cat sighed and curled back up. Minako stuck her tongue out at him and turned back to her closet. She tapped her chin as she thought. "Perhaps you should put some thought into the homework you've been neglecting," Artemis added. Minako responded by burying him with a pile of clothing, to which the cat panicked and clawed his way out, much to Minako's dismay.

"My dresses!" Minako shrieked. Artemis dove under the bed as Minako continued to shriek in a panic. Then is stopped, and he could hear laughing. Before he knew it, Minako had reached under the bed, pulled him out by the scruff of the neck, and held him up wearing a huge grin. "That's okay!" she said. "It gives me an excuse to go shopping!"

"Did you ever need an excuse before?" Artemis asked as Minako skipped out of her room, him still in tow.

--

It didn't take long to pull together the others for a shopping trip. Minako crossed paths with Usagi and Rei on the way and met Makoto and Ami at the stores. Neither Luna nor Artemis were present, as both had gotten away shortly before arriving at the stores. Usagi was quick to pick a store. They could all agree on it and promptly began flipping through the various dresses. Minako and Usagi were quick to pick dresses to try on, Makoto was almost as quick, and Rei spent time carefully deciding which to try. Ami, however, didn't even bother flipping through the articles of clothing.

She walked by them slowly, looking at them with slight glances. As interested in the dance as she was, she wasn't particularly interested in the festivity of it. Rather, she wanted more to learn about the school, and to find out more about the entry exams and the waiting list.

"Oh! This is perfect!" Ami looked over the clothing rack at Usagi, who jumped up and down excitedly holding and pink and white dress with a pale blue sash and trim. Ami smiled, then sighed into a frown. She loved her friends dearly, but it was times like these that she felt... distanced, like she didn't belong. She sighed again and turned to continue walked, but jumped back when she nearly ran into someone.

"Oh! I'm sorry!" the girl exclaimed. She had blue eyes behind silver-rimmed glasses and blond hair in pigtails and wore a vest with checkered trim over a short-sleeved blouse. "I'm sorry," she said again. "I just... noticed... you seem quite sad." Ami smiled.

"What would make you say that?" she asked. The girl looked over at Usagi and the others, and then back at Ami.

"You watch your friends from a distance, with a sad smile," she said. Ami's smile faded.

"Yes, I suppose I do," she said. She didn't say anymore, and the girl picked up on it.

"You're Mizuno Ami, yes?" the girl asked. Ami nodded. "I thought I recognized you. I saw your picture on your profile." Ami looked surprised.

"Profile?"

"Yes, of the lead candidates for entry," the girl said. Ami still looked confused. "Into Sougyokyuu Gakuen. All those who submitted forms for the entry waiting list have profiles to determine if they would be appropriate for entry into our school."

"You're from the school?" Ami asked. The girl nodded.

"Yes, I attend Sougyokyuu Gakuen with my best friend." The girl looked over across the store, where the brown-haired girl from the temple was browsing the dresses. The girl sighed. "She is my best friend, and for that I love her dearly, but..." She looked at Ami. "I feel like I don't belong. Everyone likes her, especially the most popular girl in school. I, however, am just another walking encyclopedia. Why she still insists that I am her best friend, I'll never know." Ami understood the girl perfectly.

"You know, you know my name," Ami said with a smile, "But I do not know yours."

"Oh!" The girl laughed. "I am Tenka, Cupino Tenka."

"Cupino!" Ami smiled. "I've heard of you! You carry the top mathematic scores in all of Sougyokyuu Gakuen!" Tenka blushed.

"Uh, well, I suppose that would be me," she said meekly. "I don't usually advertise it, but I suppose with you being a genius and all, you'd know." Tenka glanced back over at her friend and then back to Ami. "I don't think I've ever told her, and I wouldn't want her to know. I'd rather she see me as normal." She laughed. "I don't even iron my uniform just so I'll seem normal."

"You shouldn't have to," Ami said. "If she really is your friend, she'll love you just the same no matter what." Tenka looked up at Ami and smiled.

"Tenka! Where'd you go?" Tenka and Ami looked over as Tenka's friend came running up. "There you are! Look at this dress! It would look perfect on you!"

"Ami-chan!" Ami looked over to her friends as they looked around for her.

"I suppose I should go," Ami said. "It was a pleasure to meet you." She turned and returned to her friends, who also had a dress picked out for her.

"Say Tenka, who was that?" Karen asked, looking at the unfamiliar girls. Tenka smiled.

"My sister in another life," she said. "Now, what makes you think I'll dare where that dress?"

--

"I noticed I am more flexible," Sailor New V said as she stretched. "I could never stretch like this in track." She stood up straight and looked over at her "mentors," the guardian cats of the Sailor Senshi. "I'm faster, too. Do the others get better when they become senshi?"

"I suppose," Luna said. Artemis didn't say anything. He was more busy taking notes about the things New V said and did, anything that could add up to figuring out who she really was. He'd been at it for several nights now. Each night, he and Luna would catch up with Sailor New V as she passed by Minako's apartment building, giving them reason to think she lived nearby. They would then tutor her, train her as they had the other senshi.

"So, what will we do tonight?" she asked, bouncing on the fronts of her feet.

"Talk," Luna said. "We will talk." New V was surprised.

"Uh, talk? About what?"

"About you," Luna replied. "Who are you? Where are you from? We just want to know about you."

"I don't know," New V said as she rubbed her arm. "I don't know what you would want to know. I haven't been a senshi long."

"What about when you aren't a senshi?" Artemis asked. "Who are you then?"

"Well I'm certainly not me," New V said. "When I'm not a senshi, I'm just another girl." She shrugged. She wasn't completely comfortable talking to the cats. She was all for learning how to be a senshi, but when she was Sailor New V, she didn't want to think about Karen Thomas, even though Karen couldn't stop thinking about Sailor New V.

Luckily for New V, the cats didn't have time to push the subject. An alarm was going off somewhere. New V ran to the roof's edge instantly. She looked down and watched as black-hooded men ran out from the Jewelry store below. "Robbers!" she shouted excitedly. "Great! A normal bad guy!" She wasted no time jumping from the edge, leaving the cats behind to shake their heads.

"She is so reckless and impatient," Luna said. Artemis nodded and ran ahead to follow by way of a safer route. Luna sighed and followed Artemis, hoping New V didn't break anything on her way down.

New V, meanwhile, landed gracefully on the edge of the jewelry store sign before stepping off and landing safely at the doors of the store. She ran after the robbers, who ran down an alley a few buildings down. She picked up the pace and skidded around the corner as a yellow convertible came to a stop in front of it. The female occupants watched the ensuing fight with interest.

New V charged after the robbers, catching up with ease and leaping over them. She landed in their path, causing them to stop in surprise. "I don't think those belong to you," she said, putting her hands on her hips. "In fact, I know they don't. Now I'd ask you to kindly return them, but I don't think you're smart enough to do that." The two men looked at each other, then back at New V.

"And just who are you supposed to be, Sailor V?" the one laughed.

"No, I am Sailor New V, the senshi of New Justice!" she proclaimed, raising a pointed hand. She lowered it to point at them. "In the name of New Justice, you will be punished!" The two men laughed and dropped the jewels, quickly pulling out guns. They shot at her, put she had already ducked. She hadn't exactly counted on guns, but it was better than that Sailor Tritonos she had faced. She rolled out of the gun's paths and leaped from her crouched position. As she came down, she kicked one of the men, leaving a clear imprint of her boot on the man's face. She then landed and quickly turned, kicking the other with the back of her heel. He flew backward, twisting and landing flat on his stomach. Both men were down for the count. "Well, that was refreshingly easy," she said. She grabbed a discarded plastic bag and proceeded to use it to tie the two men's wrists together.

The females in the yellow car watched, mildly impressed. "She seems to know what she is doing," Michiru said of the girl.

"So what?" Haruka asked. "She could still be part of the enemy sent to throw us off." Michiru sighed. She tried to use some of Usagi's optimism, but Haruka's points were usually hard to argue with. Haruka wordlessly proceeded to turn her car key, but she was stopped when the car suddenly shook. She and Michiru let out gasps of surprise and looked up to see a cloaked woman and a strange senshi on the hood of the car. The senshi fit Luna and Artemis' description of Sailor Tritonus, and the other… looked like the woman from Sougyokyuu Gakuen! Just enough of her cloak was to the side for them to see the fishnet on her arms.

"We've waited a long time for this," said the hooded one. She stood talk and pulled her hood from her head, then pulled the cloak completely from her. She was dressed the same as the other, save for the differences in colors. She dropped the cloak and shook her mussed shoulder-length hair. It was pale, and gave Haruka a sick feeling in her stomach that made her squirm. "What is the problem?" she asked. "Does the sight of your planet's guardian not please you?"

"Who are you?" Haruka asked.

"My lady, I am hurt," the senshi said sarcastically. "How can you not remember you _loyal_ guardian, Sailor Mirandas?"

"And you must be Tritonus," Michiru said of the second senshi. Tritonus moved her head in a slight tilt, acknowledging Michiru. "You attacked innocent people a fee nights ago."

"You disappointed her by not showing up," Mirandas said. "She was left to deal with some senshi nobody."

"As we recall," Haruka said, "That senshi nobody destroyed her." This made Mirandas laugh.

"A false, nobody senshi can't do a thing to us," Mirandas said. Then she smiled. "Unlike what we'll do to you."

"Twin Beams!" The two senshi leapt from the roof of the car, avoiding Sailor New V's attack completely. They landed in unison in front of the car. New V gasped. "You!" she said, pointing at Tritonus. "I thought…"

"You are so foolish," the senshi said in her soft, whisper-like voice. "A fake senshi cannot harm me."

"I am not fake!" New V shouted. "I am a real senshi! You are fake! A real senshi would never harm innocent people like you do!"

"You think them innocent?" Mirandas asked, pointing to Haruka and Michiru. "They are traitors to the empire, and must be disposed of in the way all traitors should."

"Slowly," Tritonus added, "And painfully." New V looked at the two women, which cost her precious time as she felt the heavy water snake up her left arm.

"No!" she shouted, jumping back and pushing at the water. She shouted as she was pulled down by the weight of the water spiraling around her left leg.

"A fool," Tritonus said.

"A fool indeed if she thinks she can stand up to us," Mirandas said. She glanced over at Haruka and Michiru. "Well what are you waiting for? Come and rescue her! Or, are you cowards now as her were in the past? Afraid to show your true identities?" Haruka and Michiru looked at each other.

"Get out of here!" New V shouted to them. "I can handle them, get out of here!"

"Listen to you!" Mirandas laughed. "You speak to them as though they were helpless! Can you not tell who they are?" New V starred at Mirandas, then looked back at the two women, who were now jumping out of the car.

"This ends now," Haruka said, lifting her hand. In it was a wand. "Uranus Planet Power, make-up!"

"Neptune Planet Power, make-up!" Michiru shouted. New V's eyes widened as the two women before her became senshi.

"I don't believe it," she whispered. Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune posed defensively, ready to fight.

"That is better," Mirandas said. She lifted her hands up at the two senshi. "Wind Distruption!" A swirling cyclone of blue and gold light shot at Uranus and Neptune. They leapt to opposite sides, but as soon as they landed, they were both weighed down by Tritonus' water. "And now we can extract our revenge," Mirandas said gleefully.

"No," New V whispered. She looked at her mirror, trapped in her hand by the water. "Come on," she whispered, "Come on…" She pulled and twisted, but nothing she did could free her arm. She looked up at Uranus and Neptune, who were completely at the mercy of Mirandas and Tritonus. "I am a real senshi, I can't let them be destroyed!" She closed her eyes. "Come… ON! Twin Beams!"

Mirandas and Tirtonus stopped their approach and turned to the suddenly burst of light coming from New V. Her hand glowed brilliantly as the mirror shined brightly in New V's freed hand. Her leg was still trapped, but she didn't need it. With a smirk across her face, she pointed the mirror at Mirandas and Tritonus. "Twin Beam!" The two senshi leapt away, but they hadn't been New V's target. Instead, the attack struck Tritonus' water, dissolving it and freeing the senshi. They were instantly up and ready.

"World Shaking!" Uranus shouted, aiming her attack for Mirandas.

"Deep Submerge!" Neptune shouted, her attack flying at Tritonus. The two senshi were hit no problem, screaming in pain. They landed rough and disappeared.

"Good job, senshi!" Artemis said as he and Luna approached.

"Yeah, good job," New V said. "Now, maybe a little help here?" She pulled at her leg. Uranus looked at Neptune, then both looked at the cats. The cats nodded. Uranus sighed and called forth her sword. Before she could make use of it, however, someone appeared they hadn't expected. Sailor Venus, skidding backward on the road and landing limply by New V. The senshi looked up at the source of Venus' pain. The source was a senshi not unlike Mirandas and Tritonus, except she was colored in orange and blue and had short gray hair in messy waves. She was silent as she lifted her hand for another attack. Uranus and Neptune didn't react in time as the attack struck. The senshi laughed hysterically as it disappeared. When the light of the attack faded, the senshi found that Venus was untouched, and Sailor New V was gone.


	5. The Revelation Day

"Ah..." Karen gasped as she slumped on the wall of her apartment building. She had never before been in such pain as she was now. It was all a blur. One moment she had been weighed down, with Sailor Venus limp at her feet, the coming attack, well... coming. Then suddenly, all was bright. A raven-haired woman looked down upon her, then all was black. It was then that she woke up, wearing her plaid jumper, the pen of Sailor V lying by her head. And the pain, oh the pain.

Karen looked up at building. She could see living room window, lit brightly, her parents probably wondering where she had gone. It was so dark, it had to be very late. She didn't know how to explain what had become of her, but she didn't care. She took a deep breath and pushed herself from the wall. She gasped and fell back to it. Her tears renewed, she continued to the door with her shoulder pushed against the wall. "Mother..." she cried softly. "Father..." She dropped to one knee. "Mo- Fa..." She shook as she slowly fell. She'd made it so far... she's woken up only a block away, but it seemed so far away...

"Karen?" Karen looked up into the blurry night as a figure rushed toward her. "Karen! What happened?!"

"Te- Te..." She couldn't say it and was left to fall into darkness again.

--

"New V must have moved you," Artemis said as Ami applied alcohol to the cut on Minako's forehead. "Before the light, you where in one spot on your back, but after the light, you were moved, lying on your side."

"She took the entire brunt of the attack," Minako whispered. "She saved me, at the expense of her own life."

"We don't know that," Michiru said, trying to reassure Minako. "Sailor Tritonus survived New V's attack, perhaps New V survived Sailor Magellanus' attack." Minako shuddered. The name, the voice, everything about that senshi who claimed to be the guardian of the planet Venus... It made Minako so uneasy, almost sick to her stomach.

"Please don't say that name," Minako groaned. She buried her head into Ami's shoulder.

"So if we have these three," Makoto said, diverting from the topic of Magellanus, "Do you suppose there are more? Perhaps guardian to each planet?"

"There was once a guardian to each planet," Luna sighed. I couldn't believe it at first when Tritonus first appeared to New V, but now I have no doubt. These are the very same senshi who guarded the planets, the hearts of your starseeds, during the Silver Millennium. You couldn't protect your own planets because you each had obligations elsewhere, so these senshi were brought about to protect your planets."

"But if we had the starseeds of our planets," Rei began, "Where do their starseeds come from?"

"Celestial bodies elsewhere in what was once the Angeline Empire," Luna replied. This received looks of confusion, so he continued. "Our kingdom was once a part of a greater empire, one of many empires. We were a part of the Angeline Empire, but after many wars, we left the empire."

"The guardians were loyal to us then," Artemis said. "I do not understand why they would be like this now. I did not even think they had been reborn on Earth like all of you had, but it would seem I had been wrong."

"Or perhaps there is something we cannot remember," Haruka said. "Maybe they work for an enemy we have not met yet. Perhaps that enemy brought them about."

"No, they couldn't have been reborn," Artemis said, correcting himself. "They would have had to be reincarnated."

"Uh, what is the difference?" Makoto asked.

"Artemis, that is foolish," Luna said. "The queen had been weak, she barely had enough power to send Serenity, Endymion, and the senshi to Earth to be reborn and us to sleep. She couldn't have had the power to reincarnate the entire team of guardians as well!"

"But what is the difference?" Hotaru asked.

"All of you were reborn," Setsuna then explained. "Because you were all native to this system, the queen was capable of sending your starseeds and spirits to Earth to be reborn. It is why you all carry the same appearance as you did in the past. Reincarnation, however, is different. These guardians did not come from our system, but from outside. I do not know the exact reasoning behind it, but they could not simply be reborn. Therefore, they would have to be reincarnated in the queen desired them to come to Earth as well. It would mean placing their starseeds within Earth's incarnation cycle, but not their spirits, and they would have come about in the spirit of a person entirely different from them, in appearance and such."

"That... is really confusing," Makoto said, shaking her head. "Maybe I shouldn't have asked."

"It is foolish anyway," Luna said, standing up. "There must be an enemy behind the actions of the guardian senshi, and that enemy must be stopped, for their sake and everyone else's sake!"

"For New V's, too," Minako added quietly. "Are we going to continue with the plan for the dance?"

"Yes," Usagi answered, much to everyone's surprise. She hadn't been happy or goofy about it like she should have been, but rather serious and somber. "The guardian senshi first attacked the school, and Sailor New V is from there. That school has at least one answer, and we are going to find it!"

--

"This is very upsetting," Sailor Magellanus complained. "Sailor Venus got away! Alive! All because of that stupid fake senshi!"

"Now now, Magellanus," comforted a sweet voiced senshi with long, red hair swept to her left side. "All in good time. Venus will be destroyed, just like all the others, then our real revenge will begin."

"And I'm sure you'll make it delicious, yes Marineros?" Magellanus said, a dark twinkle in her eye.

"I'll certainly try," Marineros said, taking her companion's shoulder. "Of course, they need perfecting..." She glanced to the side, where a pink-haired senshi sat with her knees drawn to her chest, staring at her hand as it bled. She had a look of ecstasy on her face as she watched the gleaming blood flow. She rolled her head to look at Marineros, a twinkle appearing in her intact left eye. "Are you volunteering, Charonus?"

"Oh, I most certainly am," Charonus said in a droning voice.

"Ugh, they disgust me," Mirandas said as she turned and marched down the hall. Tritonus followed quietly, loyally, and above all still-like, as though she were a statue on wheels. "Torture and blood, is that their idea of power?"

"Power, power, power," chanted a nasally voice. "Is that all you ever think about?"

"Shut it, Ionus," Mirandas said irritably, passing by the petite senshi without missing a beat. The small senshi stepped out and followed Mirandas.

"You could learn a thing or two from them," the gray-purple-haired Ionus said as she followed. "They know how to relax, though... I wouldn't recommend relaxing as they do." Ionus shuddered.

"I cannot relax," Mirandas said as she stormed into the small room where they tried to hold meetings. "I want them all dead!"

"Marineros, Magellanus, and Charonus?" Ionus asked.

"NO!" Mirandas screamed. "The senshi of the Silver Moon! Those spoiled, pompous, arrogant bitches! I want to see them all dead, their heads on lances!"

"Now now, is there need for such primitive, foul language?" Ionus asked.

"Shut the hell up!" Mirandas shouted, grabbing Ionus by the hair. She instantly paid for this when a booming soundwave struck her side, throwing her into a tapestry that fell and covered her.

"Hands off," said a gruff voice.

"Dearest Titanus, how do you hide so well?" Tritonus asked. A tall senshi with ragged-cut hair stepped into the sparse light. She looked at Tritonus with a surprised look.

"Have you been here all along?" she asked. Tritonus gave a shallow nod. "Well next time, keep your whore's hands off of Ionus." She turned and walked away, Ionus following smugly behind. Mirandas briskly fought with the tapestry. She then tore it off, enraged as she looked around.

"They are gone," Tritonus said. Mirandas growled as she stood.

"If it weren't for that damned seal, I'd have run her through with a lance by now," she said. "The sooner I have my revenge, the better."

--

"Karen... Karen? Karen!" She gasped softly and opened her eyes. Everything was dark and blurry, except for a pair of blue eyes behind silver-framed glasses. "Oh thank goodness, you're finally awake!"

"Tenka?" Karen blinked, everything coming into focus now. It was... a bedroom she was in, but it wasn't hers. "Where am I?"

Tenka let out a sigh. "My room," she said. "Oh Karen, I was so worried! I was just sitting in my living room when this sailor senshi showed up on my balcony and said you needed help. I went downstairs and you were just about passed out on the street!"

"Your..." Karen was confused. "You mean, I wasn't in front of my building?" Tenka shook her head, her blond hair shaking in messy waves.

"No, mine," she said. The senshi helped me get you up here. I insisted you needed to go to the hospital, but she said you couldn't go, that there would be no way to explain what happened and that for that very reason, I couldn't call your parents either!" Tenka took in a deep breath and sighed, then looked at Karen. "Karen, what happened to you?" Karen closed her eyes.

"I... can't remember," she said. It was still a blur. "I remember... a raven-haired senshi..."

"Long hair, all tied up in braids and loops, right?" Tenka finished. Karen opened her eyes and looked at her. "She wore an outfit that was different from the normal senshi. It was brown, red, and purple, with black-"

"-Pearls around her neck and shoulders," Karen finished. Tenka nodded. Karen sat up quickly, much to Tenka's dismay. Karen didn't care, though. She hadn't seen more than the strange senshi's hair, but she had a bad feeling about her. The colors, the black beads... the same as the evil senshi that had attacked the good senshi.

She looked over at Tenka and smiled. "It is all right," she said reassuringly. "I'm sure this senshi just... saved me, like the other senshi do. I was just taking a walk, so I must have been attacked by a... a monster or something. I'm sure it will be all right. In fact, I feel better already, and ready to take on the dance head-on!" She raised a clenched fist for effect, but Tenka didn't seem convinced. She smiled nonetheless, though, and nodded, but then frowned.

"Are you sure you'll be all right?" she asked. "Do you think you'll be able to go to school tomorrow? What will you say to you parents about where you've been?" Karen shrugged.

"I'm not worried about school, dad's at work, and I can just tell mom I stayed the night with you to get homework done. She'll scold me for not giving more warning, but she'll get over it."

--

The gates of Sougyokyuu Gakuen were wide open, welcoming any and all students to it grand recreation center. The tables were to the sides, the computers and game tables were out of sight, and the lights were low as the latest music was played through the speakers all around the room. It was very full, with a good boy-to-girl ratio that kept the girls busy. Usagi and Makoto were all over, having a hard time focusing on their mission. Rei was a little more cautious about whom she associated with, while Michiru and Haruka kept to themselves. Minako was nowhere to be seen just yet, clearly being as fashionably late as Setsuna and Hotaru had planned to be. Ami kept herself resigned to the sides, where she was quickly to strike up a conversation with a student "planted" to offer information on joining the academy. After that topic had expired, however, the student wandered off and Ami was left alone again. She felt awkward being alone. She sighed after several minutes and continued to walk along the perimeter of the dance area.

Across the dance floor from Ami was Karen, in a strapless blue dress that Tenka had objected to from the moment Karen had picked it up in the store. It hadn't stopped Karen from buying it, but a large bruise on Karen's shoulder over her heart had nearly done Tenka's job for her. It was the only physical reminder of Karen's lucky night, and nearly prevented Karen from wearing the dress. She eventually decided to wear it, but made sure to wear a jacket over it so her mother would neither see the bruise nor the lack of straps.

"Are you sure you'll be all right?" Tenka asked again. Karen sighed.

"I'll be fine," she said. "Now, are you going to talk to the 'prospects' or not?" Karen referred to the prospective new students Tenka was supposed to be talking to. The only problem was Tenka's... lack of confidence.

"Ugh, not really," Tenka said. "I don't know why I signed up for this!"

"Because you're a genius and you're the perfect spokesperson for the school," Karen said. She spied a cute boy wearing a pin that noted him as not being of their school. "Now, go!" She gave Tenka shove, practically throwing her friend at the cute boy. Tenka stopped herself before falling, but had already caught the boy's attention. She looked back at Karen, who winked before disappearing into the crowd. Tenka sighed and put on a smile, trying to hide the cartwheels in her stomach.

Karen carefully squeezed herself through the crowd, getting herself to a small opening. She sighed and gently touched the bruise. She winced and groaned. "What was that for?" Karen turned around to see Amber Dallas, her long blond hair braided and draped over her bare shoulder.

"Oh, hello Amber," Karen said. "What was what?"

"That," Amber said, putting her hands on her hips. "That wince, that pain. You go and hurt yourself?" She raised an eyebrow at Karen, who shook her head hurriedly.

"No, no, why do you ask?" she asked.

"Well... I couldn't help but notice Tenka hanging onto you like a- Well, she's always like that." Amber laughed, but her usual snobby demeanor quickly disappeared. "Okay, when you came in I saw that big ugly bruise." She pointed at Karen, and undoubtedly where the bruise was. "You've been a little off your game, too. I noticed you turned down three dances. THREE!"

"I could say you're a little off tonight, too," Karen quickly retorted. "Where's your escorts? They aren't hanging onto you like... what were you going to say about Tenka again?" Amber sighed disgustedly.

"They're gone," she said. "I got tired of them hanging around all of the time." Amber then crossed her arms and gave Karen a strange, almost knowing look. "Are you sure you're okay?" Karen turned her head, her eyes never leaving Amber's. She couldn't put her finger on it, but something was definitely up.

The contact broke when someone suddenly bumped into Amber, pushing her into Karen. Amber put her hands out instinctively, but this put one right on the bruise. Karen gave a short cry out, prompting Amber to immediately jump back.

"Oh, sorry about that!" called a bubbly voice. Karen and Tenka both looked as a spinning blond quickly disappeared into the crowd. Karen recognized her as the girl who ran over her at the temple, where the bird had been...

Karen shook her head, then noticed Amber staring at her. "I am so sorry," Amber said, and to Karen's surprise she sounded... sincere.

"We apologize as well," said an elegant voice. "Our friend can be clumsy at the best of times." Karen looked over her shoulder and immediately jumped back in surprise. It was the two women from the previous night, the ones who had transformed into senshi!

"We have a few of those around here, too" Amber said. "Are you prospective students?"

"Actually, yes," the elegant one said. "Well, mostly me, but I don't usually go anywhere without Haruka." She took a hold of the arm of a tall blond-haired boy with blue eyes.

"Well, let me be the first to welcome you to our school..." Amber waved a hand, signaling the woman to continue.

"Oh, Michiru," she said. "Michiru Kaiou."

"Ahhh!" The girls all gasped at the sudden blood-curdling screams that shattered the atmosphere of the dance. Almost instantly the music stopped, and following that the room began to clear. Karen waded against the current until coming to the now-empty dance floor, where at the edge was Tenka and another girl, both in the clutches of senshi dressed like Miradas and Tritonus.

"Tenka!" Karen shouted.

"Ami!" Karen turned to see Michiru and Haruka right behind her and... Amber? Karen turned to look back at Tenka, but didn't make it all the way around before... "Darkness Escalation!" She felt herself get lifted up by wht felt like thousands of small fingers. She was thrown backward into the air with great force. She landed on the floor and skidded under a table. She shook her head and lifted the table skirt.

Tenka was in the hands of an evil senshi in black and red with pink hair and an eyepatch. The other girl, whom Karen recognized as the blue-haired girl from the dress store, was in the clutches of a woman with long red hair that was swept to the side. Karen dropped the skirt and pulled her pen from the small dress pocket, a feature that had to be there when she picked it out. She looked at it, her hand beginning to shake. She gripped it more tightly and closed her eyes.

"I am a senshi, I swore to protect Sougyokyuu Gakuen and everyone in it." She opened her eyes. "Especially my best friend! New V Power, Transform!"

"Haruka, did you hear that?" Michiru asked. She and Haruka were crouched behind one of the large decorative plants.

"Yeah, I did," Haruka said, peering around. She then looked at Ami, who was pulling at the hands of the senshi who hand her, gripping so hard she was drawing blood. Haruka lifted her pen, followed by Michiru. "Uranus Planet Power, make-up!"

"Neptune Planet Power, make-up!"

"You hear that, Marineros?" Charonus asked, twisting the arm of the squirming blond in her arms. "Sailor Senshi are about."

"Well of course," Marineros said. "I have one in my grasp, the others won't be far behind. In fact I..."

"Marineros, Charonus!" A gasping Sailor Magellanus suddenly appeared in front of them. She had blood running all down her front from a bleeding nose and lip.

"What happened?!" Charonus yelled.

"Venus wasn't alone," Magellanus said. "She had Saturn, and Pluto too! They're coming!"

"Pluto, eh?" Charonus said, licking her lips.

"Not now," Marineros said, turning and reducing her grip on Ami to one hand as Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune stepped up. They were followed by Moon, Jupiter, and Mars. "We have company."

"Put her down!" Moon shouted, stepping up to the front of the group. "Put her down now!"

"Oh, I can't do that," Marineros said as Magellanus stepped to her right side next to Mercury. Charonus stepped to her left, a firm grip still on Tenka. "See, I have plans for her. I've been practicing my very best torture techniques just for her, and I don't plan on them going to waste." Charonus giggled, giving Tenka's arm another twist. The poor girl let out a yelp.

"Let her go!" All heads turned as Sailor New V stepped into sight, her fish mirror aimed right at Charonus. "Let her go, bitch!"

"Ooo, sounds like you've had a few too many goes with Mirandas," Charonus said. "Picking up her language, eh?"

"I won't say it again," New V said. "Let. Her. Go. Now." Charonus smiled and flung Tenka forward.

"Go ahead, she won't be nearly as fun to play with as Pluto will be."

As though cued, a chorus of voices filled the room, and everything that could happen did happen in a span of half a minute.

Pluto, Saturn, and Venus made their presences known as Venus and Pluto combined their attacks onto Saturn's Glaive, which added power to the attack before shooting it tightly at Marineros' back. She dropped Ami in surprise, instantly prompting Uranus and Neptune to combine their attacks at Marineros while Jupiter and Mars attacked Magellanus and New V attacked Charonus. The three evil senshi flew backward together. Pluto and Venus had to duck as Marineros flew overhead. They hit the wall as New V ran at Tenka, but was interrupted by a cyclone from Sailor Mirandas. She lifted into the air, twirling and hitting the ceiling as Tritonus' water wrapped around the senshi, anchoring them to the floor. New V hit the floor still spinning, coming to a stop as Sailor Titanus grabbed the back of Tenka's neck and lifted her up. New V panted and tried to make everything stop spinning.

"What an unfortunate turn of fate," Mirandas said. Tritonus was at her side, still as ever, while Ionus stood near Titanus. New V opened her eyes and looked up at Tenka, who whimpered in the tall senshi's grasp. "Sailor New V, you survived. How... unfortunate for you. You would have been better off dying earlier, because now girl, your friend perhaps, gets to suffer and die before you. Do it Titans."

"I'd rather not waste my strength," Titanus said. "I won't take much to break Saturn in half, but I want to use all I have in destroying her." Titanus looked at Tenka. "Marineros likes to torture, I'll let her have the pleasure."

"No!" New V shouted. She jumped up onto one knee, but went no further as the familiar cold weights wrapped around her arms and legs.

"I agree," Mirandas said. "I'd rather she die now, in front of this fake senshi." Mirandas approached Titanus as New V objected.

"I am NOT a fake senshi!" she shouted. "I am going to do some real damage to you because I am a real senshi!"

"I heartily agree!" Mirandas stopped in her tracks, freezing as solidly as the other guardian senshi.

"It can't be," Titanus whispered. Ionus shook her head.

"It's impossible..."

"Nothing is impossible, Ionus," said the voice again. "After all, if maniacs like all of you could become senshi, then nothing is impossible."

Mirandas spun around almost feverishly. Everyone else looked around in confusion as well. Who was speaking? The guardians didn't want to believe it was who they thought it was, and besides them only Tenka knew the voice.

"PhobosDeimosian, help!" she cried. Titanus shook Tenka violently in response.

"What did you say?!" she shouted

"Corrosive Ashen Veil!" The senshi gasped as the room was suddenly enveloped in gray ash. They couldn't see through it and they dared not breath, but the ash lasted so long that they had no choice. It was then that they found it was safe, and they also found the ash dissolving the watery bindings. They soon heard choking and coughing through the ash, and then there was silence. The ash faded away, until all was clear again. The evil guardian senshi were gone, except for one that hadn't been there before. To the surprise of the senshi, this one was helping Tenka and New V onto their feet. Tenka was gripping the senshi's arm, sobbing and shaking her head. "Shh, shh," the senshi said, brushing her long raven-colored hair away from the crying teen. "It is all right now. You are safe now."

"Who- Who are you?" New V asked, standing up warily. This senshi looked just like the evil senshi, but hadn't she just saves them? The senshi smiled.

"I am Sailor PhobosDeimosion, guardian of the planet Mars and the only loyal guardian left."


	6. The Rebirth Day

"The last loyal guardian. The LAST loyal guardian. The last LOYAL guardian?" Luna couldn't get it out of her head. She repeated it over and over, shaking her head every now and again as she paced along the edge of Rei's bed, where Tenka lay asleep under the watchful eye of Sailor PhobosDeimosian. The other senshi sat silently around the room. Sailor New V stood opposite PhobosDeimosian, who stayed at the end of Rei's bed. Finally, Luna sat herself on the bed, unable to wrap her head around it all. Seeing this as a good opportunity, PhobosDeimosian sat on the bed's edge next to the cat and proceeded to scratch her behind the ear.

"Please do not fret so," the senshi said. "I assure you, what happened is something that you could not have seen."

"What do you mean?" Artemis asked, hopping up next to Luna. "This is all... overwhelming." PhobosDeimosian nodded.

"First, I should rephrase myself," she began. "It isn't that I am the last loyal guardian, I am the ONLY loyal guardian, and always have been. The others were never loyal to the Moon Kingdom, or to anyone in the system. Their loyalties lay with the rulers of the Angeline Empire."

"The Empire we were a part of until we left, right?" Ami asked, nursing her bruised neck.

"Yes," PhobosDeimosian said. "We Guardians were assigned to guard your planets prior to the separation. After the separation, we remained under orders of the Empire. We had been placed with the purpose of keeping an eye on the Moon Kingdom back when disagreements first began. Our purpose was to report any possible treachery. We failed, as the separation took all by surprise. We were given a chance for redemption by remaining at our posts. Our new purpose was to bring about the fall of the Silver Millennium, so the Angeline Empire could retake it."

"Queen Beryl did your work for you," Jupiter said sourly.

"Yes and no," PhobosDeimosian said. "The Guardians made an alliance with Metallia. Beryl was just as much a tool of the Guardians as she was Metallia."

"And where did you fit in?" Mars asked.

"My loyalties stayed with the Guardians for only a short time after the Moon Kingdom left the Empire, and I have you to thank."

Mars looked understandably surprised. "Me?" she asked, pointing at herself. PhobosDeimosian nodded.

"Like all the other Guardians, I had very undesirable traits which lent themselves to my selection as a Guardian by the Empire," she said. "Like the others, I could hide them to make myself seem normal. Your spirit, kindness, and loyalty made me see the light, so to speak. I saw the wrong in what we were doing, and so I stopped. I tried to turn them, to convince them as I had been convinced, but it was no use. On the eve of the attack, I confronted them on the Moon and tried to stop them, but they overcame me and I was killed." PhobosDeimosian bowed her head.

"How can we know there is truth in any of this?" Neptune then asked. "How do we know you are not like them, but simply trying to look innocent?"

"She saved us all tonight!" New V exclaimed. "And she saved me from Sailor Magellanus' attack! That's how I survived that night! And after the fact, she got-" She paused. "She got someone to help me afterward, too."

"The only one who could vouch for my honesty is Sailor Alrisha," PhobosDeimosian said.

"Alrisha..." Luna touched her paw to her chin in thought. "Alrisha! I remember her!"

"She came from the Pisces Empire, right?" Artemis asked. Luna nodded.

"Who is Sailor Alrisha?" Sailor Moon asked, excitement seeping through her curiousity.

"A senshi from another empire who came here in search of her kidnapped princess," PhobosDeimosian explained. "At the end, we worked together to try and thwart the attack. I faced the Guardians while she went to Earth to face Beryl and her Generals. Seeing as how things happened the way they did, I can only assume she died as well, but I just know she was reincarnated as I was."

"But how could you two have been reincarnated if Queen Serenity didn't know how you tried to help?" Uranus asked. "She clearly didn't know, otherwise she could have tried to stop the attack."

"She did know," PhobosDeimosian said. "She knew. Alrisha and I had both approached her with it. She didn't completely believe us, though, because we lacked evidence. The dissidence on Earth wasn't enough for her to warrant a full alarm." She closed her eyes. "Clearly once the attack began, she realized what was going on."

"So, what about the Guardians?" Venus asked. "What happened with them? Where they sealed like Beryl? If so, why are they only now appearing? And if they weren't sealed, what happened?"

"Whatever it is, it has something to do with the netting," PhobosDeimosian said, more to herself than the others.

"The netting on their arms," New V said. "They have it, but you don't. That's another sign that you aren't with them, isn't it?"

"Yes," PhobosDeimosian answered. "That netting was never apart of our uniforms back then. That is a new addition, and I can't help but feel that it has something to due with their activity." She then stood, stretching one of her arms out. "The night is late. We should all go home and get some rest. I have nothing more to share tonight that will be of use."

"But what about Alrisha?" Moon asked, standing as well. "And what about her princess? Do you know anything?"

"I know where she is, Alrisha," PhobosDeimosian said sadly. "The problem is, she doesn't know who she is, and it is far too dangerous to try and force the past on her at this point. As for her princess..." She shook her head. "She never found her in the past. I don't know what became of her." PhobosDeimosian shifted and closed her eyes. A gentle glow overcame her. Her dark hair undid itself and then braided itself as it turned to a dirty shade of gold. Her uniform turned into a strapless gown, and New V covered her mouth to hide her gasp. The girl before them looked up and smiled. "I am Amber Dallas, from Sougyokyuu Gakuen. Since we will be working together now, you should know who I am by day." She looked over at New V knowingly. "Care to share, New V?" Then she looked at the others. "Or anyone else, for that matter?" No one offered right away, then Sailor Moon nodded. She returned to being simple Usagi. The others followed suit, until only New V remained.

"Wow, you were all at the dance tonight!" Amber exclaimed. "Very cool!" She turned to look back at New V, but the masked senshi was gone, and so was Tenka. Amber's jaw dropped. "Where did they go?!"

--

"You just... wouldn't believe it," Tenka said. Her head was dropped into her hands as she and Karen sat on the school roof, eating their lunch. "It was just... so unbelievable."

"Well, I do believe it," Karen said carefully. She slowly unwrapped a piece of candy, and then popped it in her mouth as Tenka's head lifted.

"Yes, I suppose," she said. "It's just so mind boggling. I almost died last night!" She crossed her arms quickly, grabbing her shoulders as she shook. "Oh Karen, I thought it was all over! I thought I'd never see my family again! I thought I'd never see you, or anyone else!" Then she gasped and her arms dropped as she stared hard at Karen. "And Mizuno-san! To think, she's a senshi! It's unreal!" Karen nodded, keeping quiet. Tenka tilted her head at her best friend's unusual quietness. "Karen, I've been thinking hard about recent events, and I can't help but see how often I can connect you to the senshi. More specifically, Sailor New V." At this, Karen went rigid. Tenka continued. "The day the school was attacked, you ran into the school in such a hurry with no plausible explanation. Then Sailor PhobosDeimosian drags me out to find you in such a state that one night, but insists I can't tell anyone. Then, Sailor New V was at the dance last night, but you were nowhere to be found. I don't mean to sound so important, but I doubt that you would have just ran if I was in such danger."

"Tenka, what are you getting at?" Karen asked exasperatedly. She turned to look at the blond girl. Their eyes met, and Tenka's expression softened.

"Karen, you're Sailor New V, aren't you?"

Karen stared long and hard. She wanted to deny it, to try and explain everything away. But, she couldn't. Not to Tenka, her best friend. If she couldn't confide in her best friend, who could she? "I- Yes, yes I am," Karen said. She pulled out the pen and held it up. Tenka looked at it without surprise. She could have shouted, for either anger or happiness, but she didn't.

"I thought so," she said simply. "Karen, do try to be more careful." Karen couldn't help but smile at her friend's ever-present mothering. Then, a laugh escaped that caught Karen off guard. It didn't last long, and when it ended Karen found herself trapped in a powerful hug. "And thank you, for trying so hard to rescue me."

"Hey, what did you expect?" Karen said. "I'm a senshi, and you're my best friend. You can't expect anything less!" Tenka sat back and nodded, reaching under her glasses to flick away a tear. She smiled and reached for Karen's bag of candy. To her surprise, the candy was swiftly pulled out of reach. "Uh, of course, there are rules regarding best friends and sweets." Tenka and Karen both laughed at this and proceeded to share the bag, their lunches forgotten on the bench.

--

"...And here is the music room," Amber announced. Her voice reverberated slightly off of the nearby drum. "This is the main practice room, but they practice equally here and in the auditorium. There are also separate rooms for woodwinds, brass, percussion, and strings."

"I feel at home already," Michiru said happily as she looked over the room. She took a few more steps in, her plaid skirt getting snagged on a set of bells.

"That happens frequently I hear," Amber said, motioning to the door. "Usually, if someone has a lot of snags in their uniform, they are a part of the music program." She looked down the hall as Ami came running up. "Professor Ashi finally let you go? Or did you finally let him go?"

"I apologize," Ami said, slightly out of breath. "It was just so exciting listening to the details of the programs." She brushed her skirt and straightened her jacket. "It's so stiff," she said in mild complaint.

"They all are," Amber said with a shrug. "They'll loosen up with wear, though."

"I am still curious," Michiru said as they moved toward the stairs. "How did you get us enrolled so quickly?"

"When you have the connections I have," Amber said as she held open the door, "You can get just about anything done."

"We'll keep that is mind," Ami said. "It could come in handy in the future." Amber nodded with understanding and followed the two new Sougyokyuu Gakuen students up to the last floor. Before exiting the stairs, Amber stopped them and looked up. "Say, would you like to take a breather? Our roof has the most amazing view." Amber lead them up to the roof access and pushed the door open, and into someone else.

"Oh, Karen!" Tenka shouted as Karen fell back.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Amber quickly said. "I didn't realize anyone was up here!"

"Ah..." Karen rubbed her head. "No no, Amber, it's all right. It was an accident." Tenka pulled Karen onto her feet, and it was then that they realized Amber wasn't alone.

"Mizuno-san!" Tenka exclaimed. "You are here, and in our uniform!"

"Amber helped us to enroll very quickly," Ami explained.

"I see," Karen said, looking at Amber suspiciously. She then looked back at Michiru and realized she was alone. "Say, where is the other one, Haruka was it?" she asked. "I thought she would enroll too.

"Actually," Michiru said with a smile, "Haruka changed her mind. For now, it is just Ami and I."

"Well, welcome to Sougyokyuu Gakuen!" Tenka said excitedly. "If you ever need any help with math or foreign language, we're here to help!" She threw her arm around Karen's shoulders and pulled her close, leaving Karen rather stumped.

"Okay, who are you and what have you done with Tenka?" The two laughed at this joke, but it was short lived as the school bell rang. The five descended the stairs quickly. As the door slammed shut, Sailor Marineros appeared on the roof. Charonus and Magellanus followed suit.

"Enjoy it while you can," she said. "It won't last long."

--

"Karen-"

"No."

"Karen..."

"Amber, please." Karen glanced at her neighbor as they kept themselves bent over their history work.

"Karen, I know who you are, you know who I am," Amber whispered. "The senshi know who I am now. Tenka knows who you are, and she knows who Mercury is. You also know Neptune and Uranus. Wouldn't things just be so much simpler if the knowledge of who is who was mutual?"

"I am not comfortable with that," Karen whispered back. "I have to work so hard to prove I am a senshi as it is... And other stuff, just-" She shook her head in irritation. "No, just no." She straightened up and sighed. She glanced over to where Tenka helped Ami catch up with the class work. Everything seemed to be happening so fast, and Karen couldn't help but to feel overwhelmed. She sighed and massaged her temple with the eraser of her pencil. Then suddenly, her pencil was shaken right out of her hand by a massive shock to her entire body, one that no one saw. All anyone saw was Karen jump like no other and fall twitching to the floor.

Amber was immediately at her side. Students stood to look, not leaving their desks as the teacher rushed to the scene. No one could ask what had happened, or if she was all right, as the room became dreadfully cold. A black fog rolled in, and the students shouted as it felt like thousands of fingers began to crawl over their skin, pulling them down quickly. Ami and Amber were no exception, but Ami was just as quickly raised up as though being offered as a sacrifice.

"Ugh, Ami!" Amber shouted, struggling with the dark hands that kept her down.

"Ami! Ami! Ami!" came the mocking cry of Sailor Marineros. She appeared on top of a desk. On either side appeared Charonus and Magellanus. "Oh, how it makes me sick." She stuck out her tongue. "Charonus, dispose of the others."

"Dispose?!" Tenka cried.

"Oh look! My little friend!" Charonus laughed. "Where is your precious Sailor New V? She's not here to help you, now is she?"

"Deep Submerge!" In a flash of water, the three guardians were blasted backwards and through the windows to the yard below. The dark hands disappeared, but only Ami, Amber, and Tenka were able to stand. Everyone else was out cold.

"Tenka, are you all right?" Ami asked as she was helped up by Neptune, both surprised to see the girl still awake. Tenka nodded. "Good, stay here and we'll get help!"

"You are the help!" Tenka shouted. "I know you are Sailor Mercury! Go give those evil senshi a good beating!"

"With pleasure," Amber said, lifting her hand. "Guardian Power, Make-Up!"

"Mercury Crystal Power, Make-Up!" Ami shouted. The two transformed and, led by Sailor Neptune, leaped through the windows to follow the three villains. Tenka went immediately to Karen's side and tried to wake.

"Oh Karen, please wake up! They may need your help!"

--

And they did.

Waiting on the school grounds was the entire Guardian Team. The moment the senshi landed on the ground, they were ambushed by a barrage of attacks, instantly incapacitating them.

"Oh, how I shall enjoy this," Sailor Mirandas said as she stepped up to PhobosDeimosian's shivering body. "The chance to repeat a traitor's death is rare indeed." Mirandas grabbed one of PhobosDeimosian's braids and pulled her upright with it. "You should have joined us, you know. We have power now that you can only dream of.

"We could still offer it to her," Ionus said. "After all, we could certainly do with one more."

"Are you crazy?" Magellanus shouted. "She's a traitor! She deserves a traitor's death, and this time I say we do it my way! Maybe she'll stay dead!"

"We'll be fine, our lot," Titanos said, flexing her arm. The fishnet on both arms flickered. "We don't need her. We never did."

"Actually, we did," Mirandas said, looking PhobosDeimosian in the eye. "You know, we wouldn't be in this predicament if you hadn't turned on us. If you had been with us, we would have had the power we'd needed to finish the job. Now here we are, picking up the pieces."

"You mean... You're trying again?" PhobosDeimosian gasped. A wicked grin grew on Mirandas. "No, you're all crazy! It'll never work!"

"Oh, but we are crazy, and that is why it will work," Marineros said. "We're stronger than we were then. This time, there will be no mistakes."

"No!" PhobosDeimosian threw her knee up and nailed Mirandas. She fell free and stumbled onto her feet. "Ashen Veil!" she shouted, throwing her hands toward the guardians.

"Boom Bomb!" Titanos shouted at the same time, throwing a fist toward PhobosDeimosian. From the fist grew a great sound bubble that hit the ash waves, exploding with a great booming sound that threw the guardians and PhobosDeimosian onto their backs. Neptune and Mercury skidded across the ground, trying to hold onto the grass and loose dirt.

"Wha- What an attack!" Tenka shouted as she gripped onto the frame of the front door. Mercury and Neptune looked back at her.

"Tenka, get back inside!" Ami shouted as the waves subsided. "Go!"

"Mercury, lookout!" Neptune shouted as Titanos stood.

"Boom Bomb!" The bubble flew at them. They braced themselves, but the bubble flew in between them and right at Tenka. Tenka screamed as the bubble exploded. Neptune and Mercury were thrown forward, their feet over their heads, and then skidded until they were stopped by the feet of Titanos, Ionus, and Tritonus. PhobosDeimosian followed their path, being thrown on top of them. The waves subsided, leaving only the sounds of the school to creak and groan. There was a humongos crater in the side of the building where Tenka had been. Students soon began to gather at the new 'windows' in their classrooms. Students in the floors above joined, staring out their windows in an attempt to see what was going on.

"Finally, that little pest is gone," Ionus snidely said.

"You'll have to do better than that!" came a shout. The guardians looked up to the top of the hole, where Sailor New V stood proudly with Tenka. "No one blows a hole in my school and gets away with it!" She jumped from the hole and landed soundly. She lifted her hand up, the mirror in it, and charged at the guardians. "Twin Beams!" she shouted, the spinning beams of water zipping toward their target.

"My turn!" Ionus shouted. She jumped over the pile of senshi and held up her arms. "Cyclonic Reverberation!" Wind laden with leaves and other natural debris began swirling around her arms. She then brought both her arms down suddenly, the tornado hitting with a crash. It spun at New V's attack, sucking it up and then dissipating. New V stepped back in shock. "You'll find we're all full of wonderful surprises!"

"This is enough," Mirandas said lowly, stepped past the now-restrained senshi on the ground. They struggled, but to no avail. "We have a pest problem. I think we need to take care of it before we continue.

"I quite agree," Charonus said as the guardians slowly advanced on New V.

"Let's make it delicious, eh?" Marineros said. Magellanus nodded in agreement.

"We'll rid ourselves of this pesky do-gooder for good," Titanos said.

"You- You..." New V stepped back again as her past encounters flashed across her vision. The pain... It started coming back. She could feel her previous injuries starting to ache again. _I am a senshi... I am a senshi..._

"Oh look, she's scared!" Ionus laughed. "What was it she's been saying?"

"I am NOT a fake senshi!" Titanos shouted mockingly.

"It's time to prove our case," Mirandas said. "You are no sailor senshi. You are just a cheap imitation, some hopeless, dreaming teenager trying to gain glory by hiding in the shadows of real senshi and then stealing their spotlight." The guardians came ever nearer, and all New V could do was back up. Finally, the guardians stopped. "All right girls, let's show her the power of real senshi."

"Aqueous Burden." Tritonus said softly like a whisper, anchoring New V to where she stood, leaving her to the mercy of the coming attacks.

"Blinding Romanticide!!" Magellanus screamed, heart-shaped orbs of light rising her her hand. The hearts then turned into spears of light that rained down on New V. The poor senshi screamed, but only for a moment before Mirandas' attack hit.

"Wind Disruption!" She shouted again, sending a second cyclone, this time joined by...

"Creeping Death!"

"Cloudy Destined Showers!"

Charonus' black hands joined the cyclone, spinning wildly as the acid-rain-filled clouds of Marineros' attack capped it. New V screamed as the spinning hands slapped her red and the stinging rain tore at her skin. She fell to her knees, a bloody mess that left the students and senshi in such a shock. She lifted her head weakly in time to see the guardians all step back, save for Titanos and Ionus. They smirked at New V.

"Bye bye, pest," Titanos said. "Boom Bomb!"

"Cyclonic Reverberation!" Ionus' cyclone crashed to the ground. The cyclone followed Titanos' bubble, striking it to create an explosion with a greater force that before. The rest of the senshi team reached the school gates in time to see the bubble explode. The guardians vanished from sight as the sound waves beat upon the school relentlessly. The students' screams went unheard against the waves. PhobosDeimosian, Mercury, and Neptune remained unmoved due to Tritonus ' attack and were left to endure it while the rest of their teammates were thrown onto the iron bars of the gate, which tore off just as the wave reached their peak. The debris settled as the senshi pulled themselves up. They gasped at the sight that beheld them.

Sailor New V was gone. In her place was Karen Thomas, breathing ever so weakly, her chest hardly moving as the rest of her lay still, save for the very tips of her fingers as they twitched. Her eyes were half-closed and unmoving. Her uniform was torn to pieces, and everywhere her skin was red and torn, bleeding steadily.

"Karen?" Mercury whispered, cut off by PhobosDeimosian.

"Karen!" she screamed shrilly. "Karen!"

"Karen, Karen Karen!" came the mocking voice of Marineros as she and the other guardians reappeared. "She's no real senshi. She's just a wee little school child."

"I... am..."

"Huh? What?" The guardians looked at each other, then Ionus stepped forward.

"I don't believe it!" she growled. "She's still alive! She's a cockroach, she doesn't know how to die!"

"I... am... a real senshi!" Karen gasped, pulling her arm forward limply. She pulled up the other, barely grasping the Sailor V pen, and tired to push herself up.

"Don't you know how to quit?" Mirandas asked as she quickly stepped up to Karen. She was up just enough for Mirandas to get her foot under and make her kick even more painful. Karen fell onto her back with a thud.

"Stop!" Sailor Moon cried as she ran forward, the other senshi hot on her heels.

"World Shaking!" Uranus shouted. Jupiter, Mars, and Venus followed with their attacks, but they were all sucked up by Ionus' cyclone before Titanos' bubble hit it, blowing up just feet in front of the senshi and throwing them backward onto their rumps.

"Wait your turn!" Ionus shouted, her nasally voice screeching harshly. "We're disposing of the cockroach first!"

"Stop it, stop it all of you!" PhobosDeimosian shouted. "Just stop! She is a real senshi, I can vouch for that!"

"Oh really?" Tritonus asked, audible only to the three trapped senshi. "Why should we believe you? What proof do you have that she is a real senshi?"

"She is the proof!" PhobosDemosian shouted more loudly. "She isn't Sailor New V! She is the guardian senshi of the Pisces Empire, sworn enemy of all that is evil, and the guardian of the Mirror of Venu and Cupi!"

"Can it be?" Ionus questioned as she turned to Karen. She hadn't made it all around when a bright water-like bubble of light grew from Karen. It stayed there, swirling with hundreds of different blues, teals, aquamarines, and greens.

"It is!" Charonus cried. "Hurry! Destroy it! Creeping Death!" The others followed Charonus' attack, some with the same haste. The attacks converged on the bubble, and to no surprise a great explosion occurred. Unlike the others, however, this explosion was beautiful, like dropping something heavy into water from high above. The senshi, good and evil alike, covered their heads, but found the waves of sparkling, watery light to be of no harm. They looked at each other as the light fell from them like water and then disappeared before it touched the ground.

The senshi all looked up to the glowing cocoon of light as it began to unravel and fade away, slowly revealing a beautiful sailor senshi like none they had ever seen. She wore a unique uniform of teal and orange, with long pink hair unbound by any hair ornaments. In her hand was a mirror of two fish surrounding a blue orb and resting upon her nose was a teal mask, the same as was worn by Sailor New V.

"Could it be?" Sailor Jupiter asked.

"It must be!" Sailor Moon cried. "It's Sailor Alrisha!"


End file.
